U.S.

Mark H. Grimes Baltimore Police Department Office of Legal Affairs 601 E Fayette St Baltimore, MD 21202 Mary E. Borja Wiley Rein LLP 1776 K St NW Washington, DC 20006 Re: Dear Counsel: Judge Paul W. Grimm scheduled a settlement conference in Christopher Sharp v. Baltimore City Police Department, et. al. for May 30, 2012. While we take no position on Mr. Sharp’s claim for damages against the individual defendants, it is the United States’ position that any resolution to Mr. Sharp’s claims for injunctive relief should include policy and training requirements that are consistent with the important First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights at stake when individuals record police officers in the public discharge of their duties. These rights, subject to narrowly-defined restrictions, engender public confidence in our police departments, promote public access to information necessary to hold our governmental officers accountable, and ensure public and officer safety. The guidance in this letter is designed to assist the parties during the upcoming settlement conference. It specifically addresses the circumstances in this case and Baltimore City Police Department’s General Order J-16 (“Video Recording of Police Activity”), but also reflects the United States’ position on the basic elements of a constitutionally adequate policy on individuals’ right to record police activity. 1. Background In his complaint, Mr. Sharp alleged that on May 15, 2010, Baltimore City Police Department (“BPD”) officers seized, searched and deleted the contents of his cell phone after he used it to record officers forcibly arresting his friend. Compl. at 9-12, ECF. No. 2. Mr. Sharp further alleged that BPD maintains a policy, practice or custom of advising officers to detain citizens who record the police while in the public discharge of their duties and to seize, search, and delete individuals’ recordings. Id. at 7. On November 30, 2011, BPD and Frederick H. Christopher Sharp v. Baltimore City Police Department, et. al.

-2­ Bealefeld, III filed a Motion to Dismiss Complaint of for Summary Judgment. According to the Motion to Dismiss, BPD promulgated a general order on recording police activity on November 8, 2011. BPD did not file this policy as an exhibit to its Motion to Dismiss. Instead, BPD filed a declaration providing a brief summary of its contents. On January 10, 2012, the United States filed a Statement of Interest in this matter. In that statement, the United States urged the Court to find that private individuals have a First Amendment right to record police officers in the public discharge of their duties, and that officers violate individuals’ Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights when they seize and destroy such recordings without a warrant or due process. The United States also opined that, based on the limited information on the record regarding BPD’s development of new policies and training on individuals’ right to record the police, BPD failed to meet its burden of establishing that it had taken sufficient action to prevent future constitutional violations. On February 10, 2012, BPD provided the Court, Mr. Sharp and the United States with a courtesy copy of General Order J-16. The same day, BPD released General Order J-16 to the public. 1 Following a hearing on February 13, 2012, Judge Legg denied BPD’s motion. Constitutionally adequate policies must be designed to effectively guide officer conduct, accurately reflect the contours of individuals’ rights under the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, and diminish the likelihood of future constitutional violations. BPD’s general order does not meet these requirements in some areas. In other areas, BPD’s general order does adequately protect individuals’ constitutional rights. We discuss those areas below, as well as others in which BPD should amend the general order to ensure that individual’s constitutional rights are protected. 2. Guidance on the Right to Record Police Activity. A. Policies should affirmatively set forth the First Amendment right to record police activity. Policies should affirmatively set forth the contours of individuals’ First Amendment right to observe and record police officers engaged in the public discharge of their duties. Recording governmental officers engaged in public duties is a form of speech through which private individuals may gather and disseminate information of public concern, including the conduct of law enforcement officers. 2 See, e.g., Glik v. Cunniffe, 655 F.3d 78, 82 (1st Cir. 2011) (“[b]asic
1

Peter Hermann, Baltimore Police Told Not to Stop People Taking Photos or Video of Their Actions, The Baltimore Sun, February 11, 2012.
2

There is no binding precedent to the contrary. In Szymecki v. Houck, 353 F. App’x 852 (4th Cir. 2009), the Fourth Circuit issued a one page, unpublished per curium opinion summarily concluding – without providing legal or factual support – that the “right to record police activities on public property was not clearly established in this circuit at the time of the alleged conduct.” Id. at 853; see also McCormick v. City of Lawrence, 130 F. App’x 987 (10th Cir. 2005). In the Fourth Circuit, “[u]npublished opinions have no precedential value.” United States v. Stewart, 595 F.3d 197, 199 n.1 (4th Cir. 2010); see also Glik, 655 F.3d at 85 (“[T]he absence of substantive discussion deprives Szymecki of any marginal persuasive value it might otherwise have had.”).

-3­ First Amendment principles” and federal case law “unambiguously” establish that private individuals possess “a constitutionally protected right to videotape police carrying out their duties.”); Smith v. Cumming, 212 F.3d 1332, 1333 (11th Cir. 2000) (recognizing the “First Amendment right . . . to photograph or videotape police conduct.”); Fordyce v. City of Seattle, 55 F.3d 436, 439 (9th Cir. 1995) (recognizing the “First Amendment right to film matters of public interest”). The First Amendment right to record police activity is limited only by “reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.” Glik, 655 F.3d at 84; Smith, 212 F.3d at 1333. While courts have only recently begun to refine the contours of the right to record police officers, the justification for this right is firmly rooted in long-standing First Amendment principles. The right to “[g]ather[] information about government officials in a form that can readily be disseminated to others serves a cardinal First Amendment interest in protecting and promoting ‘the free discussion of governmental affairs.’” Glik, 655 F.3d at 82 (citing Mills v. Alabama, 384 U.S. 214, 218 (1966)). The application of this right to the conduct of law enforcement officers is critically important because officers are “granted substantial discretion that may be used to deprive individuals of their liberties.” Id.; Gentile v. State Bar of Nev., 501 U.S. 1030, 1035-36 (1991) (“Public awareness and criticism have even greater importance where, as here, they concern allegations of police corruption.”). The “extensive public scrutiny and criticism” of police and other criminal justice system officials serves to “guard[] against the miscarriage of justice,” Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539, 560 (1976) (citing Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333, 350 (1966)), a harm that undermines public confidence in the administration of government. When police departments take affirmative steps to protect individuals’ First Amendment rights, departments “not only aid[] in the uncovering of abuses . . . but also may have a salutary effect on the functioning of government more generally.” Glik, 655 F.3d at 82-83. Policies should explain the nature of the constitutional right at stake and provide officers with practical guidance on how they can effectively discharge their duties without violating that right. For example, policies should affirmatively state that individuals have a First Amendment right to record police officers and include examples of the places where individuals can lawfully record police activity and the types of activity that can be recorded. 3 While this area of the law

3

Police duties discharged in public settings may include a range of activities, including detentions, searches, arrests or uses of force. In Kelly v. Borough of Carlisle, 622 F.3d 248 (3d Cir. 2010), the Third Circuit considered whether there was sufficient case law “establishing a right to videotape police officers during a traffic stop to put a reasonably competent officer on ‘fair notice’ that seizing a camera or arresting an individual for videotaping police conduct during the stop would violate the First Amendment.” Id. at 262. The Court determined that, because there were no cases specifically addressing the right to record traffic stops and the relevant Third Circuit decisions were inconsistent, there was insufficient case law to support a finding that the right to record traffic stops was clearly established. Id. Because the right was not clearly established, the officer involved was entitled to qualified immunity. Id. at 262-63. The Third Circuit expressly did not reach the question of whether the First Amendment protects the recording of police activity during a traffic stop, because it did not need to reach that question to decide that the officer should receive qualified immunity. Id. In other contexts, the Supreme Court has noted that, when faced with a close call, “the First Amendment requires [courts] to err on the side of protecting political speech rather than suppressing it.” FEC v. Wisconsin Right to

-4­ is still developing, existing case law is instructive. In Glik, an individual engaged in protected activity when he recorded officers allegedly engaging in excessive force in a public park, “the apotheosis of a public forum.” Glik, 655 F.3d at 84. Individuals have a right to record in all traditionally public spaces, including sidewalks, streets and locations of public protests. Courts have also extended First Amendment protection to recordings taken on private property, including an individual filming police activity from his or her home or other private property where an individual has a right to be present. See Jean v. Massachusetts State Police, 492 F.3d 24 (1st Cir. 2007) (activist’s posting of a video of “a warrantless and potentially unlawful search of a private residence” on her website was entitled to First Amendment protection); Pomykacz v. Borough of West Wildwood, 438 F.Supp.2d 504, 513 (D. N.J. 2006) (individual was engaging in political activism protected by the First Amendment when she photographed police officer while officer was in police headquarters and in municipal building); Robinson v. Fetterman, 378 F.Supp.2d 534, 541 (E.D. Pa. 2005) (individual who videotaped state troopers from private property with the owner’s permission was engaged in constitutionally protected speech). The 1991 videotaped assault of Rodney King at the hands of law enforcement officers exemplifies this principle. A private individual awakened by sirens recorded police officers assaulting King from the balcony of his apartment. This videotape provided key evidence of officer misconduct and led to widespread reform. Congress enacted 42 U.S.C. §14141 in response to this incident. Section 14141 granted the U.S. Attorney General the right to seek declaratory or injunctive relief against law enforcement agencies engaged in a pattern or practice of violating the Constitution or federal law. BPD’s General Order J-16 should affirmatively set forth that individuals have a First Amendment right to record officers in the public discharge of their duties. At numerous points throughout General Order J-16, BPD refers to “Constitutional rights” that form the basis for the policy. For example, General Order J-16 begins with a statement acknowledging that the purpose of the policy is to “to ensure the protection and preservation of every person’s Constitutional rights,” id. at 1, and later refers to bystanders’ “absolute right to photograph and/or video record the enforcement actions of any Police Officer.” Id. at 2. Yet, General Order J-16 never explicitly acknowledges that this right derives from the First Amendment. Particularly given the numerous publicized reports over the past several years alleging that BPD officers violated individuals’ First Amendment rights, BPD should include a specific recitation of the First Amendment rights at issue in General Order J-16. Other areas of General Order J-16 also require further clarification. For example, General Order J-16 states that officers may not prohibit a person’s ability to observe, photograph, and/or make a video recording of police activity that occurs “in the public domain,” General Order J-16 at 1, but never defines this term. BPD should clarify that the right to record public officials is not limited to streets and sidewalks – it includes areas where individuals have a legal right to be present, including an individual’s home or business, and common areas of public and private facilities and buildings.

Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449, 457 (2007). See also Bertot v. School Dist. No. 1, Albany County, Wyo., 613 F.2d 245, 252 (10th Cir. 1979) (“We prefer that governmental officials acting in sensitive First Amendment areas err, when they do err, on the side of protecting those interests.”).

-5­ B. Policies should describe the range of prohibited responses to individuals observing or recording the police. Because recording police officers in the public discharge of their duties is protected by the First Amendment, policies should prohibit interference with recording of police activities except in narrowly circumscribed situations. More particularly, policies should instruct officers that, except under limited circumstances, officers must not search or seize a camera or recording device without a warrant. In addition, policies should prohibit more subtle actions that may nonetheless infringe upon individuals’ First Amendment rights. Officers should be advised not to threaten, intimidate, or otherwise discourage an individual from recording police officer enforcement activities or intentionally block or obstruct cameras or recording devices. Policies should prohibit officers from destroying recording devices or cameras and deleting recordings or photographs under any circumstances. In addition to violating the First Amendment, police officers violate the core requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment procedural due process clause when they irrevocably deprived individuals of their recordings without first providing notice and an opportunity to object. See Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 333 (1976) (“The right to be heard before being condemned to suffer grievous loss of any kind . . . is a principle basic to our society.”); Stotter v. Univ. of Tex. at San Antonio, 508 F.3d 812, 823 (5th Cir. 2007) (The notice defendant provided to the plaintiff “was insufficient to satisfy due process because [plaintiff] did not receive the notice until after his personal property was allegedly discarded . . . . [D]iscarding [plaintiff’s] personal property in this manner violated his procedural due process rights.”). BPD’s General Order J-16 addresses the search and seizure of cameras or recording devices. However, the policy does not prohibit more subtle officer actions that nonetheless may infringe upon individuals’ First Amendment rights. BPD should instruct officers not to threaten, intimidate, or otherwise discourage an individual from recording police officer enforcement activities or intentionally block or obstruct cameras or other recording devices. The order also prohibits officers from damaging or erasing the contents of a device without first obtaining a warrant, General Order J-16 at 2. This is not merely a Fourth Amendment question, however. Under the First Amendment, there are no circumstances under which the contents of a camera or recording device should be deleted or destroyed. BPD’s general order should include clear language prohibiting the deletion or destruction of recordings under any circumstances. C. Policies should clearly describe when an individual’s actions amount to interference with police duties. The right to record police activity is limited only by “reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.” Glik, 655 F.3d at 8; Smith, 212 F.3d at 1333. If a general order permits individuals to record the police unless their actions interfere with police activity, the order should define what it means for an individual to interfere with police activity and, when possible, provide specific examples in order to effectively guide officer conduct and prevent infringement on activities protected by the First Amendment.

-6­ A person may record public police activity unless the person engages in actions that jeopardize the safety of the officer, the suspect, or others in the vicinity, violate the law, or incite others to violate the law. See, e.g., Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568, 573 (1942) (words “likely to cause a fight” are not afforded First Amendment protection); see also Louisiana ex rel. Gremillion v. National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People, 366 U.S. 293, 297 (1961) (“criminal conduct . . . cannot have shelter in the First Amendment”). Courts have held that speech is not protected by the First Amendment if it amounts to actual obstruction of a police officer’s investigation – for example, by tampering with a witness or persistently engaging an officer who is in the midst of his or her duties. See Colten v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, 407 U.S. 104 (1972) (individual’s speech not protected by the First Amendment where individual persistently tried to engage an officer in conversation while the officer was issuing a summons to a third party on a congested roadside and refused to depart the scene after at least eight requests from officers); King v. Ambs, 519 F.3d 607 (6th Cir. 2008) (individual was not engaged in protected speech when he repeatedly instructed a witness being questioned by a police officer not to respond to questions). However, an individual’s recording of police activity from a safe distance without any attendant action intended to obstruct the activity or threaten the safety of others does not amount to interference. Nor does an individual’s conduct amount to interference if he or she expresses criticism of the police or the police activity being observed. See City of Houston, Tex. v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451, 461 (1987) (“[T]he First Amendment protects a significant amount of verbal criticism and challenge directed at police officers.”); Norwell v. City of Cincinnati, Ohio, 414 U.S. 14, 16 (1973) (“Surely, one is not to be punished for nonprovocatively voicing his objection to what he obviously felt was a highly questionable detention by a police officer.”) Even foul expressions of disapproval towards police officers are protected under the First Amendment. 4 See, e.g., Duran v. City of Douglas, Arizona, 904 F.2d 1372, 1377-78 (9th Cir. 1990) (individual who was “making obscene gestures” and “yell[ed] profanities” at an officer engaged in conduct that “fell squarely within the protective umbrella of the First Amendment and any action to punish or deter such speech—such as stopping or hassling the speaker—is categorically prohibited by the Constitution.”). Time, place, and manner restrictions on First Amendment speech must “leave open ample alternative channels for communication of the information,” Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 791 (1989). BPD’s general order specifically suggests that, if a bystander’s actions are The Supreme Court has carved out an exception for “‘fighting’ words – those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.” Chaplinsky, 315 U.S. at 572. However, the Court has indicated that the fighting words exception “might require a narrower application in cases involving words addressed to a police officer, because ‘a properly trained officer may reasonably be expected to exercise a higher degree of restraint’ than the average citizen, and thus be less likely to respond belligerently to ‘fighting words.’” Hill, 482 U.S. at 462. See also Johnson v. Campbell, 332 F.3d 199 (3d Cir. 2003) (detainee’s words “son of a bitch” to police officer were not fighting words); Posr v. Court Officer Shield #207, 180 F.3d 409 (2d Cir. 1999) (individual’s statement to officer “one day you’re gonna get yours,” spoken while in retreat, were not fighting words); Buffkins v. City of Omaha, Douglas County, 922 F.2d 465, 472 (8th Cir. 1991) (finding no evidence that individual caused “an incitement to immediate lawless action” by calling officer “asshole”).
4

-7­ “approaching the level of a criminal offense,” supervisors should “recommend a less-intrusive location to the bystander from which he/she may continue to observe, photograph, or video record the police activity.” Id. at 5. This is effective language to guide supervisor’s conduct. However, BPD’s general order does not permit or recommend that “members” – presumably officers – provide this information to bystanders before effectuating an arrest. BPD should revise its general order to provide “members” with the same authority. General Order J-16 must set forth with specificity the narrow circumstances in which a recording individual’s interference with police activity could subject the individual to arrest. Recent publicized interactions between citizen-recorders and BPD officers highlight the need for clear guidance on this issue. See Peter Hermann, Police Allow Bystanders to Tape Arrest, But at What Risk?, The Baltimore Sun, April 3, 2012 (president of the city police union stating that officers “are confused right now” about how to appropriately respond to individuals recording police conduct); see also, Fox45 Top News Stories Video, Fox45 WBFF Baltimore, March 22, 2012 (covering the suspension of a BPD officer who confiscated a cell phone from an individual recording police from a family member’s property) 5; Justin Fenton, In Federal Hill, Citizens Allowed to Record Police – But Then There’s Loitering, The Baltimore Sun, February 11, 2012 (BPD officer instructing a citizen-recorder that he would face loitering charges if he failed to move away from the scene of an arrest). Under “General Information,” General Order J-16 at 2, the policy states that bystanders have an absolute right to record police activity as long as the bystanders’ actions do not fall into one of six exceptions. One exception is that bystanders may not “Interfere with or violate any section of the law, ordinance, code, or criminal or traffic article.” While bystanders clearly may not violate the law, it is less clear under what circumstances an individual’s actions would “interfere” with a law or ordinance. This language encourages officers to use their discretion in inappropriate, and possibly unlawful, ways. Instead, General Order J-16 should encourage officers to provide ways in which individuals can continue to exercise their First Amendment rights as officers perform their duties, rather than encourage officers to look for potential violations of the law in order to restrict the individual’s recording.

D. Policies should provide clear guidance on supervisory review. First line supervision is a critical component of constitutional policing. Policies should include guidance on when an officer should call a supervisor to the scene and what a supervisor’s responsibilities are once he or she arrives at the scene. A supervisor’s presence at the scene should be required before an officer takes any significant action involving citizen-recorders or recording devices, including a warrantless search or seizure of a camera or recording device or an arrest. 6

5

Available at: http://www.foxbaltimore.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wbff_vid_12767.shtml.

Supervisors should be present at the scene to approve any arrest for conduct related to the use of cameras or recording devices. For example, an arrest for quality of life offenses, including “hindering” or “loitering,” may be based upon the individuals’ alleged interference with police duties while using a recording device. See, e.g., Justin Fenton, In Federal Hill, Citizens Allowed to Record Police – But Then There’s Loitering, The Baltimore Sun, February 11, 2012 (BPD

6

-8­ BPD should clarify the role of supervisors. A supervisor’s presence at the scene should be required before an officer takes any significant action involving cameras or recording devices, including a warrantless search or seizure. If feasible, supervisors should be present prior to an individual’s arrest related to the use of a recording device. At a minimum, supervisors must be present to approve such arrests before an individual is transported to a holding facility. BPD’s general order does not include mandatory language requiring supervisors to be present during these occurrences, but rather advises supervisors to be present “if possible.” General Order J-16 at 4. Moreover, BPD’s general order includes inconsistent language regarding when a member should contact a supervisor. On page 4, officers are instructed to notify a supervisor after an individual has been arrested. Later on the same page, under the supervisor’s responsibilities, the supervisor is advised to go to any scene where the actions of a bystander are “approaching the level of a criminal offense.” BPD should reconcile this inconsistency and require, at a minimum, a supervisor’s presence at the scene to approve all arrests or any other significant action by a member. E. Policies should describe when it is permissible to seize recordings and recording devices. Policies on individuals’ right to record and observe police should provide officers with clear guidance on the limited circumstances under which it may be permissible to seize recordings and recording devices. An officer’s response to an individual’s recording often implicates both the First and Fourth Amendment, so it’s particularly important that a general order is consistent with basic search and seizure principles. A general order should provide officers with guidance on how to lawfully seek an individual’s consent to review photographs or recordings and the types of circumstances that do—and do not—provide exigent circumstances to seize recording devices, the permissible length of such a seizure, and the prohibition against warrantless searches once a device has been seized. Moreover, this guidance must reflect the special protection afforded to First Amendment materials. Policies should include language to ensure that consent is not coerced, implicitly or explicitly. See Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 228 (1973) (“[T]he Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments require that a consent not be coerced, by explicit or implicit means, by implied threat or covert force. For, no matter how subtly the coercion was applied, the resulting ‘consent’ would be no more than a pretext for the unjustified police intrusion against which the Fourth Amendment is directed.”). In assessing whether an individual’s consent to search was freely and voluntarily given, Courts may consider “the characteristics of the accused . . . as well as the conditions under which the consent to search was given (such as the officer’s conduct; the number of officers present; and the duration, location, and time of the encounter).” United States v. Lattimore, 87 F.3d 647, 650 (4th Cir. 1996). BPD’s explanation of the process for obtaining consent includes clear guidelines regarding what steps an officer should take once an individual provides an officer with consent to review a recording. However, BPD’s general order should include language to ensure that consent is not coerced, implicitly or explicitly. officer instructing a citizen-recorder that he would face loitering charges if he failed to move away from the scene of an arrest).

-9­ Warrantless seizures are only permitted if an officer has probable cause to believe that the property “holds contraband or evidence of a crime” and “the exigencies of the circumstances demand it or some other recognized exception to the warrant requirement is present.” United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 701 (1983). Any such seizure must be a “temporary restraint[] where needed to preserve evidence until police c[an] obtain a warrant.” Illinois v. McArthur, 531 U.S. 326, 334 (2001). Seizures must be limited to a reasonable period of time. For example, in Illinois v. McArthur, the Supreme court upheld a police officer’s warrantless seizure of a premises, in part, because police had good reason to fear that evidence would be destroyed and the restraint only lasted for two hours – “no longer than reasonably necessary for the police, acting with diligence, to obtain the warrant.” Id. at 332. Once seized, officers may not search the contents of the property without first obtaining the warrant. Place, 462 U.S. at 701 & n.3. In the context of the seizure of recording devices, this means that officers may not search for or review an individual’s recordings absent a warrant. Police departments must also recognize that the seizure of a camera that may contain evidence of a crime is significantly different from the seizure of other evidence because such seizure implicates the First, as well as the Fourth, Amendment. The Supreme Court has afforded heightened protection to recordings containing material protected by the First Amendment. An individual’s recording may contain both footage of a crime relevant to a police investigation and evidence of police misconduct. The latter falls squarely within the protection of First Amendment. See, e.g., Gentile v. State Bar of Nev., 501 U.S. 1030, 1034 (1991) (“There is no question that speech critical of the exercise of the State’s power lies at the very center of the First Amendment.”). The warrantless seizure of such material is a form of prior restraint, a long disfavored practice. Roaden v. Kentucky, 413 U.S. 496, 503 (1973) (when an officer “br[ings] to an abrupt halt an orderly and presumptively legitimate distribution or exhibition” of material protected by the First Amendment, such action is “plainly a form of prior restraint and is, in those circumstances, unreasonable under Fourth Amendment standards.”). See also Rossignol v. Voorhaar, 316 F.3d 516, 522 (4th Cir. 2003) (Where sheriff’s deputies suppressed newspapers critical of the sheriff “before the critical commentary ever reached the eyes of readers, their conduct met the classic definition of a prior restraint.”). An officer’s warrantless seizure of an individual’s recording of police activity is no different. See Robinson v. Fetterman, 378 F.Supp.2d 534, 541 (E.D. Penn 2005) (By restraining an individual from “publicizing or publishing what he has filmed,” officer’s “conduct clearly amounts to an unlawful prior restraint upon [] protected speech.”); see Channel 10, Inc. v. Gunnarson, 337 F.Supp. 634, 637 (D.Minn. 1972) (“it is clear to this court that the seizure and holding of the camera and undeveloped film was an unlawful ‘prior restraint’ whether or not the film was ever reviewed.”). The warrantless seizure of material protected by the First Amendment “calls for a higher hurdle in the evaluation of reasonableness” under the Fourth Amendment. Roaden v. Kentucky, 413 U.S. 496, 504 (1973). Police departments should limit the circumstances under which cameras and recording devices can be seized and the length of the permissible seizure. BPD’s general order does not convey that the warrantless seizure of recording material is different than the warrantless seizure of many other types of evidence, in that it implicates the First, as well as the Fourth, Amendment. General Order J-16 should make it clear to officers that, in the ordinary course of events, there will not be facts justifying the seizure of cameras or recording devices. Moreover, General Order J-16 does not define “temporary” seizure. BPD should clarify how long and under what circumstances an officer may seize a recording device, even temporarily,

-10­ and how the recordings on the device must be maintained after seizure. A policy permitting officers, with supervisory approval, to seize a film for no longer than reasonably necessary for the police, acting with diligence, to obtain the warrant if that film contains critical evidence of a felony crime would diminish the likelihood of constitutional violations.

F. Police departments should not place a higher burden on individuals to exercise their right to record police activity than they place on members of the press. The Supreme Court has established that “the press does not have a monopoly on either the First Amendment or the ability to enlighten.” First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765, 782 (1978). Indeed, numerous courts have held that a private individual’s right to record is coextensive with that of the press. A private individual does not need “press credentials” to record police officers engaged in the public discharge of their duties. See e.g., Glik, 655 F.3d at 83 (“The First Amendment right to gather news is, as the Court has often noted, not one that inures solely to the benefit of the news media; rather, the public’s right of access to information is coextensive with that of the press.”); Lambert v. Polk County, Iowa, 723 F.Supp. 128, 133 (S.D. Iowa 1989) (“It is not just news organizations . . . who have First Amendment rights to make and display videotapes of events—all of us . . . have that right.”). The First Amendment “attempt[s] to secure ‘the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources,’” including the “promulgation of information and ideas by persons who do not themselves have access to publishing facilities-who wish to exercise their freedom of speech even though they are not members of the press.” New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 266 (1964). This principal is particularly important in the current age where widespread access to recording devices and online media have provided private individuals with the capacity to gather and disseminate newsworthy information with an ease that rivals that of the traditional news media. See Glik, 655 F.3d at 84 (“[M]any of our images of current events come from bystanders with a ready cell phone or digital camera rather than a traditional film crew, and news stories are now just as likely to be broken by a blogger at her computer as a reporter at a major newspaper.”). BPD’s general order appropriately does not place a higher burden on individuals to exercise their right to record police activity than in places on members of the press. Policies should not establish different guidelines for media and non-media individuals. BPD’s general order includes language that accomplishes this goal: “Members of the press and members of the general public enjoy the same rights in any area accessible to the general public.” Id. at 4. “No individual is required to display ‘press credentials’ in order to exercise his/her right to observe, photograph, or video record police activity taking place in an area accessible to, or within view of, the general public.” Id.

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These two provisions effectively convey that officers should not place a higher burden on individuals to exercise their right to record police activity than in places on members of the press.
3. Conclusion

Comprehensive policies and effective training are critical to ensuring that individuals' First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights are protected when they record police officers in the public discharge of their duties. If the parties determine that settlement of this matter is feasible, we encourage the parties to reach an agreement that is consistent with the guidance provided above. Please note that this letter is a public document and will be posted on the Civil Rights Division's website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Sincerely,